Andrew Scott

1. The Complete Guide to Restaurant Profitability: How to Cut Your Hours and Boost Your Bottom Line By Andrew Scott, Founder at OwnerShift Training | October 2025 | Restaurant Operations After 18 years owning restaurants and coaching hundreds of owners, I've heard every excuse for why profitability is impossible. "The industry's broken." "I worked 10 years and never made it work, so I sold." "If you need this kind of help, you shouldn't own a restaurant." Here's what I know: In 2007, I opened my first restaurant working 80+ hours weekly, gained 100 pounds, and lost money. That wasn't because I didn't know how to work hard - it's because I didn't understand how to run a business. Why Most Restaurant Owners Stay Stuck When the National Restaurant Association reports that typical restaurants operate on 3-5% profit margins, most owners work longer hours trying to fix it. But Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows restaurant managers already work over 40 hours weekly - and owners typically push 60+ hours. The solution isn't more hours. It's fixing your systems. The Real Problems Holding You Back Most restaurant owners tell me they're dealing with: ● Working 60-80 hours weekly, missing time with their kids ● Not knowing their actual financial numbers ● Food costs spiraling out of control ● Labor costs eating all their profit ● Being afraid to raise prices (worried they'll lose customers) ● Wanting to grow sales but stuck in day-to-day operations Sound familiar? That was me at location one. And locations two and three before I figured out the system. The OwnerShift Framework: Three Phases to Freedom

2. Phase 1: Know Your Numbers The Non-Negotiables: ● Weekly financial reviews (not monthly - too late to fix problems) ● Track your prime cost (food cost + labor cost combined - should be under 60%) ● Daily sales tracking with variance analysis I found a 4% food cost problem in my first weekly review back in 2010. Cost me $3,000 monthly. Fixed it in two weeks. Research confirms that restaurants with structured financial oversight cut operational errors by 20%, but what matters more is catching profit leaks before they destroy your business. Biggest Mistake: Most owners don't look at numbers until month-end. By then, you've already lost thousands you'll never get back. Phase 2: Build Systems That Don't Need You Critical Steps: ● Document how every job gets done (Standard Operating Procedures) ● Create training programs your managers can run without you ● Implement daily checklists and weekly manager accountability meetings The OwnerShift Training Method I developed focuses on systems that work without the owner present. One client running three locations in Chicago cut training time from six weeks to two weeks and dropped staff turnover 35% after implementing this. Phase 3: Strategic Growth (Not Just Working More) The Path Forward: 1. Systematic customer acquisition - build a database, run loyalty programs 2. Menu engineering based on actual contribution margin (not just what's popular) 3. Develop manager-level leadership so you're not required daily Track These Metrics (Not Vanity Numbers) Based on industry benchmarks and our client results: Primary Metrics: ● Prime Cost: Get to 55-60% (industry average is 65%+) ● Your Hours: Cut from 60+ to under 40 within 2-4 months

3. ● Net Profit: Target 10-15% (vs industry standard 3-5%) Real Client Results Ontario casual dining restaurant after implementing this: ● Sales up 27% in year one ● Prime cost dropped from 68% to 61% in six months ● Owner went from 75 hours weekly to 35 hours ● Net profit jumped from 2% to 9% The key? Financial visibility first, then systems that eliminated owner dependency. The Truth About Restaurant Profitability This takes 6-12 months to fully implement. But you'll see results in 30 days because we tackle highest-impact changes first - most restaurants find $2,000-5,000 in monthly profit leakage within week one of weekly financial reviews. Industry data shows 60% of restaurants survive past five years. Success isn't about working harder. It's about working systematically. Look, I get the skepticism. You're thinking "it's probably stuff I already know" or "my restaurant's doing just fine." But if you're working 60+ hours weekly and not seeing the profit or freedom you want, something needs to change. The restaurant industry doesn't have to break you. You deserve to see your kids at grow up instead of working 14-hour days. It starts with deciding you're worth more than constant burnout. Andrew Scott is Founder at OwnerShift Training, specializing in restaurant profitability and operational systems. A former multi-unit Pita Pit owner and Top 40 Under 40 award recipient, Andrew hosts the Restaurant Growth Accelerator podcast where he shares frameworks for building profitable, freedom-based restaurant businesses. Listen for free at restaurantgrowthacceleratorpodcast.com or watch on YouTube to get actionable strategies you can implement immediately.